There were four people sitting at that table.
The first was what looked like an elf, because of the ears. They looked pretty young. His long eyelashes and his shoulder length hair makes him look kind of like a girl. His small facial features aren't really helping him out in that department either.
The second was a fat, young boy. He looked like he couldn't be anymore than eleven years old. He had his hair greased back into spikes, making him look really mean. His skin was also about as pale as the people from Pitiful's domain. He also has this super cool looking necklace on.
The third was a huge dude, who even sitting down came up taller than me. He needed to get a special chair just so he wouldn't break it under his own weight. He has this huge, bushy beard.
And the fourth… The fourth was a pale woman, with pitch black hair, white eyes, and a cute face…
"I apologize for interrupting but…" I'm shaking as I try to remain as polite as possible.
"I happen to be involved with some emissaries of Pitiful Girl, a Royal Selection Candidate. Early today, a magic stone they were planning on buying was stolen, and I have reason to believe it turned up here. Because of that, I'd like to know just what the magic stone on this table is?"
I think I got my point across well. I can't think of any room for misunderstanding and I think I hid my fear well enough to not be noticed.
"Oh… this is the stone you're looking for then. I was the one who stole it." says Memento, freezing me in place. Huh? Did she seriously just admit to stealing it?
"A-and the guards?"
"I was the one who killed them, yes." She says, as if it's a completely normal phrase that people say all the time. Not a single person, not even the kid so much as flinch at this. If you couldn't hear what we were talking about, you'd think I was the weird one in this situation.
"I-I'm sorry, miss… but it appears as if you're trying to buy it back?"
"I am."
"How the hell did that even happen?!"
"I was leaving the city when this stupid elf boy stole it back from me. I spent all day looking for and ended up here. I have no idea how he also ended up having to buy it back." How many hands did the damn stone go through?! Was my investigation even worth anything, or was it just dumb luck I actually managed to find it?!
"I- I'm sorry, but since I know the rightful buyers, may I have it? I'm just trying to bring it back to its rightful owners."
"No."
"Sorry, but I can't let you do that."
"Just who the hell do you think you are, human?"
"Not happening."
Says Memento, the elf boy, the kid, and the giant in that order. Alright, even I knew that was kind of a longshot. Time for a different strategy.
"Listen here. I'm a servant of Baron Wisefang, operating under his orders. Baron Wisefang is still the rightful owner of that stone, and not returning it to him immediately will make an enemy of him, understand?"
"Why should any of us care about what a minor noble has to say?" Says Memento.
"Political repercussions."
"I killed two guards and stole the thing from his mansion. Why would that matter to me?" Says Memento, flatly. The giant and the kid are looking at me in secondhand embarrassment. The elf looks like he's pitying me.
"Perhaps you aren't scared of Baron Wisefang, but what about Pitiful Girl and her men? She's like, crazy strong you know, and the Emednes Mountain Range is supposed to be really harsh, so her men aren't any pushovers either. If you don't hand it over to me now, they will track you down. If you do hand it over to me now I swear I won't tell anybody where I got it, and you can all just leave." Alright, I think I gave an effective enough ultimatum.
"Hah! As if I'd be scared of humans!" laughs the kid.
"I agree. It won't be in my possession for long enough for them to have anything on me." says the giant.
The elf remains silent.
"Oh come on! Memento here I could understand, but just what are your guy's plans to escape from that girl?!" Suddenly the atmosphere completely changes. This is the first time I've created such an effect, but I can't help but feel that it isn't a good thing.
All of their faces turn serious. The giant and the kid look concerned. The elf is glaring at me, while the bartender is just sighing, disappointedly. I can't see Memento's face since she's facing away from me, but I can see her standing up. "I had thought I had done a good job as Saiko… but apparently not."
Memento turns around and stares at me with an unreadable expression. Under her feather coat I can see a flash of light. The kind that comes off of metal. Why do I feel like I'm about to die?
"Tell me, Kiaran, how do you know my name?" Crap, I shouldn't have given them my name.
"Y- your hair…" I can't lie, I'm far too scared, but I can get as little information as possible.
"My hair then? That's too bad… Not too much I can do about that…"
Everybody goes silent for a while. Maybe she decided to drop the subject?
"Just as a warning, if you move now, you'll die." says the elf, breaking the silence. I look at him confused, then I notice Memento and the boy looking at him in the same way. Just what is he saying? All of a sudden though, the giant sprints towards Memento and attempts to punch her, destroying a bunch of floorboards in the process.
"What?! Did he get her?!" I can't help but shout. But then the giant's head goes flying off of his shoulders. What? My mind at this moment goes completely blank. No anger, no disgust, no fear. Just, an overload of all sorts of emotions so intense that I feel nothing at all. My brain can't process anything.
But time doesn't wait for me to catch up. Memento stands there, holding a sword in one hand, with very little blood on it. The kid and the elf are on guard, the bartender is just frozen.
"You're a lot smarter than you look, elf…" says Memento. "I see no reason to prolong this further. I'll be taking the stone now. If any of you try to stop me, you will join him." She starts to walk over to the table.
"As if, it's mine!" screams the boy, before charging her. I finally snap out of my trance.
"Stop! You'll die!" I scream, but it's too late. Memento and the kid start engaging in brutal combat, far too fast for me to pay attention to. That kid moves far too fast for his size, and he parries Memento's sword swings with his nails. His eyes are glowing red and he's screaming, while Memento remains calm, but she has switched to using her sword with two hands.
Clashing of metal on metal fills my ears over and over again with no pause between clashes. As this is happening I can slowly start to smell the scent of blood from the giant's decapitated head.
"W- what the hell…" Suddenly, I feel a hand on my shoulder, I turn around, scared, but it's just the elf who was just sitting at that table with Memento.
"H- how did you get over here?"
"I'm an elf. Look, it's in your best interest to get away from here, now."
"B- but I haven't gotten the stone."
"Your life is far more important than just some stone. Although if you decide otherwise, it's none of my business."
"What about you? What do you plan to do?"
"I plan on assisting the kid to kill Vincent's underling. After that, I don't know, I'll just go from there."
"You plan to get involved in that?" I say, glancing in the direction of that brutal fight.
There's blood everywhere, but neither of them have any wounds. The squelching of blade cutting through flesh can be heard, but again, neither of them are hurt at all. The kid's also only gotten more brutal, fighting even more berserk and unpredictably. Memento's still calmly swinging her sword like this is just an everyday thing for her. She's swinging it so quickly and putting it into positions you'd probably need to break your arms to replicate. Again, she also shows no signs of pain at all.
"You really are weak, aren't you, Kiaran? Pay attention to the battle, what do you see happening? Do you notice anything?"
I look, but they're both moving far too quickly for me to see. There's still blood flying in all sorts of directions, and the scent of blood is only growing stronger, but I can't see either of them getting hit. They have no scars, their clothes aren't torn, and they aren't getting tired either. What is the elf trying to point out to me?
"Pay close attention to their movements. Pick one thing and focus on it."
I remember something from my past life. Whenever I was riding in a car and we drove by something close, it always appeared to go by really quickly and blurry. But when I focused on something specific when we drove past it, it looked like it suddenly got really clear and slower. Maybe I could do something similar here? Is that what the elf is trying to tell me?
I follow his advice and focus on the movement's of just Memento's sword instead of the entire fight. Sure enough, it seems to become clearer and slow down. Even if I did have the speed, I still wouldn't be able to hold my own in a fight with her, even with this new clearness, but I can still see what's going on.
I had thought that the kid was parrying most of her attacks, but I realize now I was wrong. I was completely wrong. He's only blocking like, a third of them. The rest of them are cleaving right through his body, sending his blood flying, but Memento's sword isn't leaving a single wound. What's going on?
"I see what's happening, but I don't understand…" Does the elf know? Is that why he told me to pay attention?
"That's fair, I guess. You don't see many of them east of the Emednes. Listen, that kid is a vampire. A really weak one, but a vampire nonetheless."
A vampire? I had thought his skin was pale? But I had seen something from Pitiful's men so I didn't think much of it. It's also night, but I don't go around thinking everybody who's out at night is actually a vampire. So that's like, a quirk of vampire biology in this world? They can heal from every wound? That's way too overpowered, so there's probably a limit to it. Maybe the blood they drink fuels that ability? That would be really vampire-like.
All of a sudden, I hear a grk sound, and looking back over at the fight, Memento had decapitated the vampire just like she did the giant. N- no… that's impossible… He was healing from every wound and was fighting like an absolute beast, and he didn't even scratch her before he died? Glancing over to my left, the elf also seems to be in a state of disbelief.
"He was rather tenacious. Nothing I can't handle though. If you two wish to be next, I'll gladly accommodate you."
We both freeze for a moment, before the vampire's lifeless body starts glowing, catching the attention of everyone there, including Memento. That doesn't last long though before Memento tries to attack it. As she tries though, it jumps back. It then stops glowing, revealing the vampire with his head still attached looking at Memento with a mix of fear and rage. Looking over back at Memento, the head she had cut off is still next to her feet. Just after I notice this, his necklace snaps.
"Oh, so that's how it is. How annoying. Is being a vampire not enough for you? Do you fear your own mortality that much?" The vampire stays quiet.
"Anyways, you know you can't defeat me, so how about just let me walk away with the stone?" The vampire still stays quiet.
"Aren't you forgetting about me, miss?" Says the elf, walking up to her. When did he get so close to her and so far away from me? He was just standing right next to me…
"Yes, I am. You elves are rather forgettable, afterall."
"I've lived quite a long life, yet that's the first time I've heard my race called "forgettable"."
"It's the truth. Now do what you want."
"Very well."
All of a sudden, the elf charges Memento with a burst of speed that puts the vampire's to shame. I can hear the clashing of metal, and can see the sparks that come from that, but I couldn't notice the elf ever pulling out any kind of weapon. Memento also somehow switched to a spear without me noticing. Where was she even hiding that thing, it's taller than her! And where did her sword go?!
This fight is going much faster than the one with the vampire, so even if I focus as hard as I can, I can't notice any of their movements. I can tell they're bouncing around all over the bar though, and I can tell that Memento is the one on the retreat, while the elf keeps pushing his advantage. Anything more than that is beyond me.
Looking over at the vampire, he seems super upset. Is this like an anime thing, where he's upset because he wasn't able to get Memento to use her full power? I don't know. I wouldn't find that kind of situation relatable anyway.
"Damn it… I'm not getting that stone after all." Oh right, the stone! It's still on that table, I can see it! I can just grab it and run off with it while the elf is keeping Memento distracted!
I quickly run over and grab the stone. Alright, that was super easy, now I just need to book it back to Baron WIsefang's mansion.
"Hiyaaaa!"
I barely have enough time to block the vampire's attack with my left arm. I get sent flying, and when I finally stop my arm hurts like never before.
Like hitting something with a baseball bat the wrong way, and causing your whole arm to vibrate, except it was right in the center of my arm. My mind starts fading due to the pain but I still know I'm not going to be able to use that arm for anything for a while.
"Don't think you can just run away with it since I'm low on blood, human!" Yeah this is bad, I'm really not in any condition to fight.
It's a long shot, but maybe that elf can help me? Looking over to that fight, I see that for some reason the elf is on the retreat now, and Memento is chasing after him. Also they're leaving behind a trail of blood, and the elf isn't blocking any of her attacks, just dodging them all.
As he jumps onto the counter, he stays still just long enough for me to realize what's wrong. His right hand has been completely chopped off, and the blood is running all over his arm. He had been moving fast enough for me to not notice that at all. Not only that, he didn't appear to be scared at all, and was totally calm. Even though his hand was gone, he was still in the right state of mind to be able to know he should be focusing on dodging, and even through all that pain, he kept dodging as if nothing was wrong. I felt a feeling familiar to me in my time in that mansion, but I didn't think it would come up in a situation like this. I feel jealous.
I don't have the time to fawn over his skills right now. I can't move my left arm, I don't have any weapon, I have a super valuable item on me, I'm fighting a vampire, and no help is coming. There's only really one card for me to play in this situation: Bluff like crazy and hope it works out! If all else fails, I can hopefully buy the elf enough time to heal, and kill Memento, or run away, grab some random knights and track Memento back down right away. I can't let myself be blinded by fear. I'll have to bluff for now, but after that I have options. Options in this situation are super important.
"Listen up, vampire boy, Memento! I have the magic stone! Everybody freeze, or I'll pump it full of my mana and kill us all! Don't doubt my will!" With that, the vampire freezes and the fight with Memento and the elf stops.
I hold the stone up for everyone else to see. Looking around, the vampire looks terrified, Memento has yet another unreadable expression, and the elf has already tied cloth around his arm, stopping the bleeding. Seriously, when did he have the time to do that? And where did the cloth come from?
"You realize you'd be killing yourself if you do that, yes?"
"I'm weak and backed into a corner, Memento, but the least I can do is take you all with me! I still have my pride!"
The vampire is terrified, and the elf isn't hostile yet. Memento is the only one I'm trying to convince with this performance. I had a bit of experience with acting in my high school theater, and I'm desperately trying to think of any experiences from that which would help my performance.
I keep passing glances at the vampire as well. I really don't think he'll do anything, but I think it will help sell the bluff if I look like I'm being wary of everyone in here, including Memento. She's looking at me, not saying a word, but she's not attacking me either. Is the bluff working? No, I don't have the time to be thinking about that, I need to figure out where to go from here now.
"You are more impressive than I thought. I would have been fooled if I knew that wasn't a function that stone could perform. Do your research in your next life, it will serve you well." Says Memento.
I feel a chill run down my spine. I can't move as Memento speeds towards me, spear in hand. But the spear stabbing itself through my guts never comes, instead the ground in front of me seems to explode and Memento jumps back.
"W- what…"
"I should've known you were trouble.'' That was Ruse's voice! Turning around, I see Ruse standing behind me, with a massive, black scythe. He seems angry, but relief rushes over me when I see him.
"Ruse… Ruse I… I got the stone!"
"What? No you don't." he says, confused. Why are you so confused? I have it right- but looking down, it's no longer in my hand.
"What?"
"Look at her, she's the one who has it." Looking at Memento, Ruse is right. She's holding her spear in her right hand and the stone in her left.
"But I just had it… when did she grab it?"
"If you truly didn't notice and you really did just have it, she probably grabbed it just now when she charged at you. This is your mistake. You're operating under the assumption that she's human and is limited by human limits. This is a fatal mistake. Did you even know this woman wasn't human?"
"S- she's a Black Satyr, right?"
"If you knew, then that's just even worse."
"But I have no idea what a Black Satyr could do…"
"Then you should expect anything and everything. It's still your mistake."
"Excuse me, Ruse is it? Aren't you going to attack me? If you stand there, I'm just going to leave."
"Right, all of you leave first." The vampire then runs away without saying anything.
"Are you sure you're going to be alright? She's really strong, she cut my arm off, after all."
"Don't worry, I've fought much tougher opponents than her."
"Alright, I'll believe that." Says the elf, before walking away. Ruse takes a battle stance with his scythe.
"You smell strong. I don't dislike exerting myself, so please, put up a better fight than those three, or else I'll make your death agony."
Ruse doesn't say anything. Suddenly, Memento puts her spear back into her feather coat. Inside it seems to be a pure darkness and her spear fits into that impossible space. What she pulls out is another spear, but this one has a tube near the blade part. Memento takes a stance, and Ruse's vibe changes completely. Like he's suddenly taking this fight seriously.
"Ruse, bodyguard of Royal Selection Candidate, Pitiful Girl."
"Memento, subordinate of Beira's most dedicated follower, Vincent Boreas."
After they exchange names, they charge at each other. Memento's spear appears to bend in all sorts of impossible ways, but Ruse blocks it all with his scythe. Sparks fly everywhere as loud clank sounds fill my ears like they're being fired out of a machine gun.
They're moving about as fast as she and the elf were when they were fighting, though since they're moving too fast for me to tell what's going on I wouldn't know if they were actually going a whole lot faster.
Ruse appears to be winning though. But as soon as I think that, weird, pitch black wings pop out from Memento's back, which also attack Ruse. Ruse remains totally calm and is able to block all of Memento's attacks even with the wings added in.
Then Memento speeds up and begins flying all around the bar so fast that the air around her is knocking tables and chairs over. Memento keeps flying away and attacking Ruse with the spinning spear, and both of her wings in what's probably a couple of times every second. Yet Ruse isn't fazed by this at all and instead speeds up how he moves his scythe even more. Just how does he manage to swing something that huge and heavy around so quickly?
As I'm watching the fight though, before I even have the time to react, Memento comes flying towards me instead. I didn't even move a muscle before Ruse jumped over to Memento at superhuman speeds, swinging his scythe up at Memento, causing her to stop going after me and instead fly up to the ceiling. But Memento isn't phased by this at all. Instead, as soon as she gets up there, her black wings expand much further than I've seen them, and knives upon knives start shooting out of those wings at us like bullets.
Ruse stands in front of me, and swings his scythe once. The air current he creates with that one swing knocks me off my feet, and grabs up all of the knives Memento threw at us, and launches them back up at her. I couldn't see what happened since I was on the floor but I could hear a bunch of clangs of metal bouncing off metal.
When I look up, Memento is standing on the floor, with a sword instead of that spear, and is covered in shallow knife wounds. They're all definitely just grazes, but she's bleeding. This is the first time I've ever seen Memento bleed.
Looking up at the ceiling, all of those knives stuck themselves up there all the way up to the hilt. If I had gotten hit with that attack, I'd be dead, yet she deflected everything. Such a crazy attack, and she only gets grazed. Just how much was she playing around all this time? I realize now that if she really wanted to, she could've killed the giant, the vampire, the elf, and me from the very start if she really wanted to.
Tears start to form in my eyes and I can feel vomit trying to worm its way up to my throat as I realize just how close I was to death this entire time.
Memento puts her sword away and begins walking up to the two of us completely unarmed. Ruse grips his scythe tightly. He's on guard. My body feels heavy as fear crushes me. She's unarmed! Yet I'm getting the same feeling that I did when I was just about to get hit by that truck. The feeling of death so close and unavoidable that it's not even worth feeling fear.
Memento disappears. Cling! I feel wind blowing past me. Ruse had raised his scythe slightly. I hear the crunching of floor boards and of bone behind me. I turn around. Memento's behind me. Her right foot slammed half a foot into the floor. Broken.
She has a sword now. No time to wonder how. I focus on that thing like my life depends on it. She charges again. Slower. Doesn't matter. Too fast to dodge. A blunt force hits me right in the gut, knocking me out of strike range. The blade came inches from my neck.
No thoughts. Only Instinct. I grab her hair. Hold on as tight as possible. My arm is pulled out of socket. It hurts. I don't let go. She jumps. Bends in an unnatural way. Grk! That sound. I don't feel more pain. It isn't my wound. I'm stabbed in the stomach. We both land. My back takes the brunt of it.
Looking in her left hand, she's grabbing ahold of the stone. It's right there! I let go of her hair and grab the stone from out of her hand with the arm the vampire punches me with. The pain's died down a bit, and my right arm is still not good because of that stunt I just pulled. I succeed in taking it from her, but she yanks the long sword out of my stomach just before jumping away.
As I lay down, Ruse runs up to me, and grabs my shoulders yelling something I don't quite understand. Looking over at Memento, her left leg has been completely cut off from just below the knee, and the lower half of her right leg is bending in all sorts of unhealthy ways. Why is Ruse sticking by me? Memento's so close to losing? Go and get her!
Ruse doesn't move from me as I watch Memento get her wings out again and fly away. Damn it, we won't be getting back at Memento any time soon, but on the bright side, I did manage to grab the stone.
"H- hey Ruse? I got the stone back…" Ruse looks at me in pure fear. He starts cursing or something, but I'm far too tired to hear what he's saying.
I can smell blood around me. Looking over to the side, I'm laying a pile of blood. That's weird, when did all this get here? I look up, and I realize it's all pouring out of my stomach. It's my blood I'm laying in. Hey, isn't that way too much? Don't people die when they lose that much blood? Am I dying?
I feel Ruse slap me, and I hear a distant, faint "Stay alive, idiot!"
I think about Heather and Virginia… they'll probably be guilty about my death. I think about Noelle and Baron Wisefang, Noelle's probably going to be heartbroken, I have no idea how Baron Wisefang will react. I think about Azariah and Aubrey. Leaving them behind like this, when they're so alone… this was a mistake. Leaving them behind in a completely different world, just how selfish am I? That's my last thought as I drift to sleep.